Wearing apparel



V. F. BARBARO WEARING APPAREL July 23, 1935.

led July 6, 1934 /f/l/l fr. ////M// an ,f Z,

ATTORNEY Patented July 23, 1.935

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in wearing apparel and more particularly to a combination garment and supporter characterized by the supporter being readily detachable from the gar- 5 ment. v

The use of supporters has been found to be necessary or desirable, particularly in the practice of sports, games, and in certain types of labor-" Such supporters are generally of two types, one of which is carried by the body and held thereto as by a waist encircling band, and the second of which is carried by the garment and attached thereto. Supporters of the rst group as above mentioned, although in wide use, are expensive, unsanitary, and'tend to quickly lose their intended function of proper support and t'o'deterioate with age and use as, for example, from immersion in lwater, perspiration, and the like. Supporters of the second group as mentioned above, and particularly those which are permanently attached to the garment, are unsatisfactory and expensive for the reason that the supporter loses its supporting functiorrearly in the life of the garment. with the result that the life of such combination apparel and supporter is materially` shortened. Some attempts have also 'been made to provide a supporter which is normally garment-attached but which is detachable from the garment. Such attempts have not been successful lpractically or commercially, however, due to faulty design .resulting in excessive bulk and particularly to cumbersome forms oi attachment to the garment. r

The present'invention provision of a combination garment and supporter of the characterin which the supporter, may be readily attached to or detached from the gar- `ment;i:`l1e provision of a garment and attached supporter (hereby the supporter 'may be readily detached from the garment when worn, soiled, or the like, and another substituted therefor; the provision of a combination garment and supporter which satises sanitary requirements; the provision of a combination garment and supporter in which the life of the garment does not depend upon the life of the supporter,t the provision of a garment having attaching means adapted-to be cooperated with complemental attaching mceans on supporters which may vary in size; the prof vision of an improved supporter for attachment to a garment; the provisionof a supporter or supporters being provided with attaching means for cooperation with 'complemental attaching means carried by a garment; the provision of an-improved supporter which is inexpensive in manuhas for its objects .the

facture, durable in use, and which may be readily attached to or removed from a garment with which it is worn. I

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out in connection with 5 the accompanying sheetof drawings illustratin several embodiments of my idea. E Y

In the drawing- Fig. Iis an interior view looking to the front of a garment and supporter attached thereto, in ac- .l0 cordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial view of a modiiied form of attachment of the supporter to the garment;

, Fig. 3 is an interior view, with the garment shown being turned with the inside out, of an- `15 other form of garment having combined therewith a supporter'in accordance with the present invention; l

Fig. 4 is a'modied form of the garment and supporter as illustrated in Fig. 3. A20

Referring to the drawing and particularly to Fig. 1, reference character Il) indicates generally a garment which in the instance shown is in the form of a pair of swimming trunks having attached thereto a supporter generally indicated at 25 I I, in accordance with the present invention. -As is well understood, the trunks are bifurcated and comprise leg portions and a lower torso covering portion, the garment being secured about the waist 'of the wearer as' by tensioning the ends of :30 a waist encircling tape or the like. v y

The supporter II comprises a waist portion I2 and a downwardly extending supportingportion I3, such portions being fabricated from an elastic fabric, the waist portion extending trans- 3.5 versely across the top of the supporting portion and being in length substantially the width of the supporting portion. The Waist portion I2. is -arranged'as to be extensible horizontally with the supporting portion I3 being extensible verh-:40

cally. AThe overall length of the supporter II is such as to extend from approximately the waist downwardly and to terminate well under the crotch of the wearer. According t'o the present invention,I removably secure the supporter I-I 4.5 to the.. garment I0 'at the waist and crotch portions of the garment, such securement being ei'- fected'preferably by providing the garment and supporter with complemental snapk fasteners,

I4, I5, such for example as hooks and eyes carried respectively by the garment and supporter. r in lieu of the aforesaid securing means, I may utilize the conventional button and buttonhole form of securement, with the garment carrying the buttons, for example, and the supporter II being provided with button-holes. All such forms of detachable connections are included within the scope of the present invention.

By reference to Fig. 1, the upper portion of the supporter is attached toy the garment at spaced points along the length of the waist portion I2 of the supporter and preferably at the relatively end portions thereof and also at a point intermediate such end portions. For good securement of the fasteners I4 to the' garment, it is preferable, particularly where the garment is of knitted fabric as in swimming trunks, to secure the fastener elements to the garment along the seams thereof, as for example the seam It between the leg portions and the waist portion of the` garment. I may also secure the fasteners I4 to relatively non-elastic tabs I'I which may in turn be secured to the seam I6. The provision of the tabs I'I prevents ripping or tearing of the knitted fabric of the trunks II) and at the same time adds to the securement of the fastener I to the garment.

The lower portion of the supporter Il may be narrowed as by centrally slitting the portion I3 upwardly from the bottom edge and thereupon doubling over the two resulting ends on each other in secured relation whereby the bottom of the supporter converges to a point. Such pointed lower portion extends into the crotch of the garment and is secured to the crotch portion thereof as by complementalfasteners I4, I as aforesaid. It is preferable that the lower portions of the supporter be secured to the garment along the generally angular crotch seams, and in the form of trunks illustrated, which are generally provided with a quadrilateral gusset in the crotch portion as is conventional, `with the gusset having its rearward apex extending intoy the seat portion of the garment, I propose to secure the fasteners carried by the garment along the gusset seams, as indicated at 20, the fasteners I4 being secured to the relatively non-elasticl tabs II as aforesaid which are stitched to the garment along the gusset seams 20. By reference to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the lower end of the supporter is narrower than the crotch portion ofthe garment and its pointed end conforms generally to the angularly'related seams 20 connecting the rearward apex portionof the gusset to the garment.

Preferably, the lower end ofthe supporter is also provided with securing means at spaced points, one of which is the lowermost point thereof, and the others being secured to the garment laterally of the lowermost point whereby to giveV a spaced suspension and connection effect.

It will be apparent that the supporter may be readily attached to and detached from the garment when necessary, and its mode of connection to the garment at the waist and crotch portions thereof is such as to insure proper sup-` porting function.

Referring to Fig. 2 wherein a slightly modified form of arrangement is shown, the garment is provided along its front waist portion with a flap 25 which may be knitted or sewn to the garment. The said flap is arranged interiorly of the garment and extends downwardly adjacent the top of the supporter II. In such arrangement the nap 25 may be provided with fasteners such as fasteners Il as aforesaid with which cooperate the fasteners I5 carried along the top edge of the supporter. By the provision of the flap 25, the supporter attaching means are not apparent from the garment exterior and at the same time the flap protects the body against rubbing, chafng or the like, which might occur as the result of the supporter attachment.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated the application of the supporter to a garment of the fiy-front type which in the instance shown is represented by sports shorts 3i). The waist portion of the garment 362i is provided with spaced fasteners, such as the male fastener elements Id previously described, which are adapted to cooperate with fasteners such as fasteners I5 carried by the supporter. In the construction illustrated, the supporter IIa extends downwardly to the crotch portion of the garment and is provided with a bottom transverse tape 3| serving to gather in and thus narrow the lower portion of the supporter. Such tape portion has sewn or otherwise secured thereto the fastener elements I4 which cooperate with the complemental fastener elements I5 carried on the transverse crotch seam 32 of the garment. It will be apparent that in the Fig. 3 construction, like the constructions of-Figs. 1 and 2, the supporter is secured to the waist and crotch portions of the garment and vthus the body is not hampered by cumbersome encircling means generally Aused with supports of the prior art.

If desired, the fly-front garment illustrated in Fig. 3 may also be provided with a flap arrangement, generally described above. By reference to Fig. 4, the flap is constituted by a plurality of divided sections 35a, 35h, the line of division between the sections being that or substantially that of the fly portions of the garment. The ap sections may be sewed or otherwise secured to the waist of the garment and extend downwardly therefrom and inwardly, with each section carrying one or more fastener elements, as I 4, for association with a complemental fastener element, as I5, located at the top of the supporter. The divided flap arrangement is such that the flap does not hinder unfastening or separation of the fly portions of the garment.

The combination garment and supporter as described overcomes the disadvantages of supporters at present in use, and particularly those sewn to or formed integral with the garment with which they are combined. Such latter type of supporters, particularly when combined with swimming trunks, deteriorate quickly due to salt water and perspiration, and it is necessary to remove them from the garment, thereby defeating the intendedpurpose of the combined garment and support. According to the present invention, one can attach the supporter to the garment if and when desired, and when the supporter has stretched or deteriorated, it can be removed and replaced at slight expense. 'Ihe detachable connection between the garment and supporter makes it further highly useful' at beaches and resorts where swimming suits are rented, the detachable nature of the connection between the supporter ,and the garment permitting a new or clean supof the present invention and its mode of attachment to the garment is that the supporter can be applied to existing bathing suits, trunks, and the like, by simply securing to such apparel along the waist and crotch portions suitable fastening means such as the male fasteners Il, and by the attachment of the supporter the garment is converted to one having supporting features. Such an arrangement is particularly desirable to rms having a stock of hundreds of bathing suits, for example, for rental purposes.

It is intended that the supporters be made in various sizes but that the detachable securing means be similarly located both on the supporter and on the garment whereby various size supports can be associated with various size garments.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of this invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting certain features that from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics oi the generic or specific aspects of this invention, andtherefore such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of a bifurcated swimming garment having a generally quadrilateral gusset in its crotch portion, the rearward apex of the gusset extending into the seat portion of the garment, and the gusset being connected to the garment by angularly related seams, the garment having along its inner, front waist portion a transversely extending ilap, a supporter of a length to extend from the waist portion into the crotch portion of the garment, the supporter being constituted of elastic fabric and comprising a transversely extensible section and secured thereto a vertically extensible section, the transversely extensible section being in length substantially the width of the vertically extensible section, complementary detachable fasteners on the flap and on the transverselyl extensible .supporter section for securing detachably the top portion of the supporter to the garment, the lower end of the supporter terminating in a point conforming to the angular relation of the seams between the rearward apex of the gusset and the garment crotch portion, and complementary detachable fasteners operative between the aforesaid seams and the pointed end of the supporter for securing detachably the bottom portion of the supporter to the garment.

2. The combination of a bifurcated swimming garment having a generally quadrilateral gusset inl its crotch portion, the rearward apex of the gusset extending into the seat portion of the garment, and the gusset being connected to the garment by angularly related seams, a supporter of a length to extend from the waist portion into the crotch portionof the garment, the supporter being constituted of elastic fabric and comprising a transversely extensible section and secured thereto a vertically extensible section, the transversely extensible section being in length substantially the width of the vertically extensible section, complementary detachable fasteners operative between the waist portion of the garment and the transversely extensible supporter section for securing detachably the top portion of the supporter to the waist'portion of the garment, the lower end of the supporter terminating in a point conforming to the angular relation of the seams between the rearward apex of the gusset and the garment `crotch portion, and complementary fastening means operative between the aforesaid seams and the pointed end of the supporter for securing detachably the bottom portionvof the supporter to the crotch portion of the garment.

VINCENT F. BARBARO. 

